


tides will bring me back to you

by kleine_waldfee



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: ??? - Freeform, Adventure & Romance, Attempt at Humor, Family Issues, Friendship, Fun game idea: take a shot every time yeosang trips and falls, Hurt/Comfort, Loss of loved ones, M/M, Mild Angst, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Pirates, Romance, implied character death but its just my oc villains who dont even have names, kidnapping but the pirates save the day yeehaw, short bois
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-24 05:14:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18564661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kleine_waldfee/pseuds/kleine_waldfee
Summary: "Who the fuck are you and what were you doing in a box of diamonds?" the young man asked, completely perplexed. So that's what had been poking him this entire time, Yeosang realized.





	tides will bring me back to you

**Author's Note:**

> rated teen and up for curse words and mentions of serious topics (see the tags) BUT i tried to keep it as light and funny as possible. 
> 
> title taken from deathbeds by bring me the horizon

Yeosang kicked the top of the wooden box open and jumped out of it. Finally, fresh air, he thought as he inhaled deeply. He looked around curiously and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He was in the hold of this pirate ship. Honestly, this hadn't exactly been his plan. None of this. But he was here now and tried to figure out how to survive on the ship with a whole lot of strangers who might or might not throw him overboard if they saw him. 

Maybe he could just hide in here. Surely there would be some sort of food in one of those containers. However, he would need a toilet of some sort sooner or later. He'd have to find a solution for that. God, how long would it be until they'd go on land again, anyway? In case of a long journey he'd also have to figure out a way to wash himself somehow. 

He didn't have to worry about that anymore though, because that was the moment his cover was blown. The door to the room he was currently in opened and he immediately made eye contact with the intruder. Which was probably the wrong word to call him, he realized, since he himself was an uninvited guest on this ship.

Anyway, here he was, staring at this guy who was staring back at him, looking just as shocked. The door closed behind him with a bang which resulted in both of them getting pulled out of their shocked state of mind. 

"Who the fuck are you and what were you doing in a box of diamonds?" the young man asked, completely perplexed. So that's what had been poking him this entire time, Yeosang realized.

He thought of an intelligent reply that would save his ass, but all he came up with was, "Uh."

The other man rolled his eyes. "Wow, don't give me that much information at once. It's a lot to deal with." He flipped his hair, which was black with red streaks in it, crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked at Yeosang expectantly. His golden earrings reflected the light when he moved. 

Yeosang cleared his throat and explained, "I'm Yeosang and I was just hiding in there. I didn't plan on stealing anything."

Now the stranger stepped closer and gave Yeosang a suspicious look. "I never said anything about stealing." He was squinting at Yeosang now, and Yeosang knew it was meant to intimidate him, but it just made him look like he suffered from constipation. He couldn't help but giggle.

He slapped a hand over his mouth quickly. Not laughing in serious situations was an unwritten rule which he had just broken. "What's so funny, short boy?"

Yeosang shrugged. "Shit happens. And, grow up, being short is really not an insult, my height is cute." He tried not to pout, but ended up doing it anyway. His face always betrayed him at the wrong moments.

"Okay, cute-height-boy, can you finally explain what you were doing in my captain's diamonds, which you were totally not trying to steal?" The pirate lifted an eyebrow. Now Yeosang noticed a slit in one eyebrow. Either a scar or a fashion statement, he couldn't really tell from this distance.

"Well," Yeosang stated, "As I've said, I was just hiding in there. I didn't even see that there are diamonds in this stupid box. It's fucking dark in there, in case you didn't know that."

"That's it, not in this tone. Not with me. I'm gonna bring you to the captain." The man stepped closer and grabbed Yeosang's arm. He would have tried to move out of the way, run or hide somewhere, but he knew it would be useless since he didn't really know where which room was and the man with the strands of red hair surely wouldn't be the only pirate on this ship. Someone would find him eventually, no matter what he did. 

So he tried a different method. "Please don't?"

The pirate stilled. "Why?"

Honestly, Yeosang had neither a good excuse nor a logical answer. He panicked. That was the only explanation he had for what he did next. He grabbed the pirate whose name he didn't even know by the neck and kissed him. Yeosang had to admit, that wasn't the smartest thing he had ever done, but hey, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Yeosang pulled back and looked at the other man's confused face. Shit. He really didn't know what had come over him. While he tried to come up with a solution for this problem he panicked again and ended up kissing the pirate again. Yes, he knew he had fucked up, but at this point it couldn't get any worse. 

At least that's what he had thought, but at that exact moment the door to the room opened again and someone stepped inside, asking, "Hey, San, what is taking you so long down there? Oh, nevermind, I see you're busy. I'll just come back later."

The guy stopped on his way out and turned around again, eyebrows pulled together confusedy. "Wait." He put his hand on his hip and kind of looked like a mom who had just caught her kid with one hand in the cookie jar as he inquired, "Who is this short boy and what are you doing with him?"

Yeosang and the pirate he had kissed were speechless, so the new guy continued talking. "Do you two maybe need some privacy?"

"Yes," Yeosang shouted at the same time the pirate exclaimed, "No!"

The two pirates looked at him, clearly unimpressed. He shrugged. "It was worth a try," he explained. 

"Well, the kiss was nice and all, but you're still going to the captain. Come on. And don't try kissing Seonghwa. There's someone who'd get jealous."

Yeosang's shoulders dropped in defeat and he exhaled, exhausted. There was obviously nothing he could do anymore. Actually, there had never been anything he could have done to begin with, so he nodded and followed the two pirates obediently. 

*

"So, you're trying to tell me that this little guy tried to rob me?" The captain of this sloop asked incredulously. That was rich coming from him, Yeosang thought, because the first thing he had noticed about him was that he looked even shorter than himself. He felt disrespected. The next thing he had noticed was that his dirty blonde hair covered the back of his neck. What an odd hairstyle. However, it was probably rather normal for a pirate to look like that, Yeosang's mind provided helpfully. The number of golden piercings adorning the captain's ears was significantly higher than that San guy's. 

"Well, that's not exactly true," Yeosang defended himself. 

The captain mustered him with an unreadable expression. "Then explain what you're doing on my ship."

Yeosang sighed. "I was just hiding in your box, I really didn't steal anything. You can check my pockets, if you want. But not the guy with the red hair."

Behind him, San exclaimed, "What? You literally kissed me, but now you're too shy to let me check whether you stole something?"

That's when Yeosang rolled his eyes. "Okay, that was a once in a lifetime experience, don't get clingy now."

The captain laughed, but hid his face behind his hands to cover it up with a lot of fake coughing. Yeosang raised an eyebrow. He had a feeling that none of them were seriously scary, but he wasn't going to take any chances.

Yeosang decided it was time to tell them what was going on. "You wanna know why I'm here? Some guys broke into my house. I'm pretty sure they were trying to kidnap me, or kill me. I could hear them talking about 'getting the son', whatever the fuck that was supposed to mean. That's why I fled, ran until I reached the harbor. I could hear them coming after me, so I did what every sane person would have done. I got onto the first ship in sight - you guys did a really good job at hiding that it's a pirate ship, by the way - and climbed into a random box. It was pretty dark, so I didn't see that there are diamonds inside. I assure you that I didn't steal or plan on stealing anything."

The captain looked like he was thinking about everything for a while. Then he asked, "Who was after you? Did you commit a crime?"

"What? No, I'm a librarian and I lead a really nice, crime-free life. I have no idea who those people were or what they wanted." Yeosang shivered at the memory of last night. He had been scared for his life. Now, in the presence of these pirates, he actually felt pretty comfortable.

"Well," the long haired pirate said, "You seem like a smart person. And you have a big mouth, I like that. You're allowed to stay here if you help cleaning and cooking, but if you do anything shady we'll drop you off on the next island and leave you there. Deal?"

Yeosang weighed his options and came to the conclusion that this was literally his only option. Except if he counted jumping in the sea and dying from thirst, but that wasn't really what he wanted. He treasured his life, which was also the reason he couldn't go back home. Not until he knew who wanted him out of the way. That whole situation was ridiculous to begin with, he was a librarian for fucks sake, the only enemies he had known until yesterday had been in the books he liked to read. 

"I appreciate your offer and I'd like to stay here." For good measure he added, "I won't disappoint you."

The captain clapped his hands together. "Good. I'm Hongjoong and you already got to know Seonghwa and San. What's your name?"

"I'm Yeosang."

*

An hour later he was scrubbing the deck together with some other boys. His knees already hurt, as did his back, but he wouldn't complain. They were almost done anyway. Once they finished cleaning Yeosang threw his rug into the bucket and sat down with the others. 

"So. You're Yeosang, right?" One of them asked. 

"Yeah. Word spreads fast around here, huh?" Honestly, he didn't even know why he asked. It was a ship. Surely any sort of information or news spread like a wildfire. 

"It does. Especially if you're as curious as Jongho," someone else said, eyeing said boy. 

Jongho threw his hands up in a defensive motion. "Don't act so innocent. You're just as curious. I know you, Wooyoung, there's no point in denying it." He pointed at Wooyoung with an accusing finger. 

The other pirate just showed the boy his tongue in reply. Yeosang giggled and shook his head. That's really not what he imagined pirates to be like. They really didn't fit the stereotype at all. 

Two other guys approached them, holding bowls of food. A man with turquoise hair handed him one bowl and Yeosang thanked him. He hadn't eaten anything since yesterday, so he really needed that. The food looked like a stew of some sort, but Yeosang didn't focus on its ingredients as he was just too hungry to really care. 

"That's really good," he said, mouth full. Usually he had better manners. "By the way, your hair looks nice," he complimented the newcomer. 

The tall pirate looked at him and his face transformed immediately, lighting up. "Thanks. It's natural."

Yeosang's brain stopped working momentarily and apparently it showed, because the second tall guy he had come with said, "It's true. Mingi is special." Okay, Yeosang had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but he wasn't going to question it. He was sure Mingi was very special. 

Later, Yeosang helped wash the dishes and was surprised to find out that Seonghwa was the cook. Yeosang complimented his cooking skills and the two made some small talk with each other. 

Night came faster than he had expected. That left him with one question, though. "Where should I sleep?"

There wasn't really much space in the crammed bedroom most of the crew slept in. Yeosang knew for a fact that Hongjoong had his own private bedroom and he also knew for a fact that Seonghwa had mysteriously disappeared and probably wouldn't be sleeping in this room. That left him to room with five other pirates. However, all the beds already looked occupied. 

"You can sleep with San. He loves getting cuddled and also, I heard you two already got friendly with each other." Yeosang turned his head to look at Jongho, unimpressed. The boy was snickering at his own words, but at least he had the decency to hide his grin behind his hand. Yeosang subtly looked around to see if there was any object he could throw at him, but couldn't find anything appropriate.

"I hate cuddling," San corrected. He was leaning against the doorframe. Everybody in the room turned their heads to look at him. It was obvious that they all thought he was lying. "Okay, I don't hate cuddling, but maybe I don't wanna cuddle with short boys who don't know what personal space is."

"Excuse me?" Yeosang was offended. He knew very well what personal space was, but it wasn't his fault that his brain malfunctioned in the wrong moments. Mostly in situations in which he panicked. Because, you know, he hasn't had to deal with a lot of panic in his life thus far. He crossed his arms in front of his chest defensively.

San sighed. "Okay. My bed is the biggest, I guess you can fit in there. But if you try to cuddle me I'll kick you out and you can sleep on the floor."

Yeosang snorted. Why would he willingly cuddle someone as mean as San? He kept calling Yeosang short. The audacity. Unbelievable. He did prefer sleeping on an actual bed over taking the floor, though, so he had to take the offer. None of the others had offered him to share their beds. He understood, really, he also wouldn't share his small ass bed with random strangers if he had a choice. "Deal."

So they ended up squeezing into the bed, back to back, San's lumpy blanket pulled up to their chins. He felt like everybody fell asleep pretty fast. Light snoring filled the room. Yeosang was just glad that there were no snores coming from behind him. 

However, that didn't really matter because he felt like he wouldn't be able to fall asleep any time soon, anyway. Now that he wasn't busy his mind could wander. He thought about his home that he had left behind, about his job and his friends. About his adoptive parents. He missed everyone already. 

Yeosang could feel the tears forming in his eyes, but he didn't allow himself to cry so he squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to stop thinking.

*

Yeosang was going for a walk on the beach. That was a pretty normal activity for him considering he lived rather close to the shore. There were some beautiful shells lying around. While they were nice to look at, they were annoying at the same time, because stepping on them was more than painful. 

Suddenly, he came to a landing stage. That was new. His curiousity got the better of him and he decided to check it out. He walked on it for a couple minutes, enjoying the scenery. Around him, there was just water. The sound of the ocean waves was so beautiful and calming. He closed his eyes and smiled.

When he opened his eyes again, it was nighttime all of the sudden. Yeosang got scared. He shouldn't be here this late, so he decided to go back home. However, after turning around to walk back, he soon noticed that the landing stage had gone old, the wood looking like it had been rotting for a while. 

He hurriedly took a step back as the bridge started breaking apart in front of him. He turned his head to look back. Back there, the wood was intact, it looked much safer. Yeosang couldn't go home, so he had to continue walking in the other direction. His heart felt heavy in his chest as he turned around once again and continued wandering on unknown paths.

*

When Yeosang woke up from his dream it took him a moment to figure out where he was. He still felt tired and exhausted. He blinked a couple times and took in the wooden walls of the ship. His mouth tasted like something had died in it. Wait, that was just hair. 

Hair? Yeosang looked down and was met with the sight of a very cuddly looking pirate wrapped around himself. What the hell. Yeosang wriggled around, trying to free himself, but San whined in his sleep and tightened his grip on the other boy. I hate cuddling with short boys who don't know what personal space is, he had said. Yeosang rolled his eyes.

He mustered San for a while. He looked really peaceful and relaxed. Only now did it dawn upon Yeosang that they were probably around the same age. How odd. He had always imagined the average pirate to be older. And scarier. Just less cute in general. 

After a while, San turned around, finally freeing Yeosang, so he took the chance and got out of the bed before the pirate could go leech on him again. Yeosang stretched, listened to his bones crack and then went to go about the day.

On deck, he saw Hongjoong standing behind the ship's wheel, a hat covering his head, hair dancing in the wind. "Good morning," Yeosang said to him. 

"Sail ho, landlubber," was the reply he got. Yeosang lifted one eyebrow at the pirate jargon. Him and Hongjoong just looked at each other wordlessly for a couple seconds before Hongjoong burst out laughing. "You should see your face! Absolutely priceless. Don't worry, I don't think of you as a landlubber. You can be one of us, if that's what you want. We don't even have any weird rites of passage!"

"Uh. I didn't even think you had any, but that's good to know. About everything else... I'm not sure what I should do. I never thought I'd end up on a pirate ship, among, well, pirates." Eloquent as always, Yeosang thought to himself. What had he read so many books for?

Hongjoong smiled at him. "Well, I'm sure you've already noticed we're not like the stereotypical pirates you hear about."

Yeosang said, "That's true. And I'm happy about it. I'm pretty sure some other pirates would have used me to feed the sharks. By the way... May I ask where we're going?"

Shrugging, the captain replied, "We're going where this sloop is taking us." When he saw Yeosang's confused expression, he added, "Hey, I'm joking. We should come across an island in couple days. It's said to have a pretty nice, old palace. That's where we're going."

Yeosang nodded and gave the captain a thumbs up before making his way to the kitchen for some breakfast.

*

The following night, Yeosang couldn't fall asleep. Last night he had been exhausted from the sudden change his life had undergone, too tired to keep dwelling on his thoughts for too long. However, now he had more energy to think about everything. 

He wanted to go back. Back at home, Yeosang still lived with his adoptive parents, so he was used to being around his family all the time. God, he missed them. He never thought he'd miss them that much. Usually, he found it quite annoying when they kept fussing over him, but now he wanted nothing more than for his father to pile a ridiculous amount of food on his plate, telling him that he needed to eat more because he's skinny, and for his mother to tell him that she's proud of having raised such a wonderful son.

That's it, he decided. He needed some fresh air, so Yeosang slipped out of the bed, walking as quietly as possible in order not to wake any of the sleeping boys up. He went up the stairs, outside into the fresh air of the night. The sky was crystal clear, no cloud in sight, which meant the stars could shine even brighter. It looked really pretty, just like the ocean waves which were illuminated by the light of the stars and the moon. 

Yeosang leaned on the railing and closed his eyes. Up here it was really relaxing. Listening to the waves breaking against the ship had a therapeutic quality. Yeosang put his hand beneath the collar of his shirt and pulled on the string hanging around his neck until he held the stone of his necklace in his hand. He twisted it mindlessly, letting his fingers slide over the sleek stone.

It was so peacefully calm up here. Naturally, Yeosang screamed like he had been bitten by a dog when someone touched his shoulder. 

"Oh my God, calm down, it's just me," the newcomer exclaimed hurriedly. Yeosang's heart was beating so fast he could hear the blood rushing in his ears. Holy shit. Now he started shivering due to the adrenaline rush. 

Shakily, he said, "Please, never do that again."

San nodded, but he was obviously trying really hard to suppress a smile. Yeosang subtly rolled his eyes. Keep laughing, he thought while simultaneously trying to figure out how to take revenge on the other boy. San's dimples made an appearance even though he was attempting not to laugh. Well, that was cute. Wait, what? Yeosang needed to focus on the issues at hand. Maybe he could push San out of the bed while they slept? That would be fun, but Yeosang considered that San probably wouldn't let him sleep in his bed anymore after that. He neededd a different plan. 

Just as he was about to try to come up with something else, San wondered, "So, what are you doing up here?"

"Oh, I'm just enjoying the view. It's really nice up here." 

San lifted an eyebrow. It was indeed nice up there, but he figured it was way too cold to just be standing there for the view. Yeosang added, "I couldn't sleep. Too many things on my mind."

Now San actually looked sympathetic. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Yeosang wanted to say no, because he barely knew the pirate, but he felt like he needed to get it off his chest. Also, he probably wouldn't see his family any time soon, so he needed someone else he could talk to. He'd have to open up to his new acquaintances sooner or later if he didn't want to bottle his feelings up. That would be pretty unhealthy, he guessed. 

Biting his lip, Yeosang reluctantly admitted, "It's about my parents."

"Oh. You must miss them a lot," San said, but bit his lip immediately after, effectively shutting himself up before he could add anything cringy without thinking about his words first.

Yeosang sighed and let the necklace he had been playing with up until that moment slide back under the neckline of his shirt. The cool, familiar weight against his sternum was comforting. He had grown up with it, was so used to it. It was a piece of home, grounding him.

San continued, "You... You're not alone, you know? We're your family, too. You're new, but trust me, everybody cares for everybody here. We all lost our families one way or another... None of us chose this life. So whatever it is you need to talk about, we'll listen to you. If you want to share what's on your mind and we'll try to understand. We're here for you, okay?"

Honestly, Yeosang was crying a little. Hearing those words felt good, made him feel better about this situation. He realized that he was actually welcome on this sloop, and not just some intruder. He was so emotional, he didn't know what came over him when he wrapped his arms around San's neck and hugged him. "That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me," Yeosang sobbed. 

"Well, considering that we've only known each other for two days I'd say that's one of the only things I've ever said to you, but, uh, you're welcome," San replied and awkwardly wrapped his arms around Yeosang's middle, petting his back. He wanted the boy to calm down. San wasn't even good at consoling people he's known for years, so this was a little bit of an odd situation. 

"Still. Thanks." Yeosang released San and wiped his face with the sleeves of his shirt. He eyed the boy in front of him curiously before he started giggling. He probably looked crazy, laughing with his face still tear-stained, but he couldn't help it. 

San looked at him in wonder. "What? What's wrong?" 

Yeosang couldn't breathe. A new wave of laughter came over him as he looked at the pirate standing there, a hand on his hip, an eyebrow raised, obviously waiting for an explanation. Honestly, the way he looked at Yeosang just made him laugh harder. He put his arm on the railing and leaned against it, trying to catch his breath. 

"It's just," Yeosang started saying, still desperately trying to breathe normally, "The fact that you're the exact same height as me. You're a short boy." Now that he's said it he started laughing again. It was just so ridiculous. San had called him short several times, completely disregarding the fact that he was just as short as Yeosang. 

That was so funny, it immediately lifted Yeosang's spirits. San, however, didn't seem anywhere near as amused. He simply rolled his eyes and made a move as if to smack Yeosang. The boy who was still giggling dodged the half-assed punch with ease. After a while his stomach started hurting, muscles almost cramping due to all the laughter. He really hoped he wouldn't start hiccuping. It's probably what he deserved, though. Karma or something like that.

San sighed and exasperatedly said, "Okay, okay, we get it. I'm short. Can you stop laughing now, you're completely red in the face and I'm honestly starting to get kind of worried for your health." 

Nodding, Yeosang pressed his lips together in a thin line and forced himself to calm down. "Do you think you can go back down to sleep now without busting a lung and waking the whole crew, or do you still need a moment?"

After taking a deep breath through his mouth, Yeosang nodded and replied, "I think I'm getting over it." As an afterthought, he added, "Slowly."

San could just shake his head as Yeosang grinned like a cheshire cat and passed him to walk down the stairs of the ship. Yeosang was just glad his sense of orientation was good, otherwise he'd find navigating through the sloop in almost complete darkness troublesome. 

Okay, maybe he had spoken too soon. Just as he was about to enter the bedroom, he tripped over his own feet. Yeosang could already picture the fall. It wouldn't be pretty. Knowing himself, he would probably just fall flat on his face, which would result in a disgusting nosebleed or worse. Fortunately, that didn't happen, because San caught his arm to keep him upright. Yeosang found his balance again and inhaled shakily, adrenaline from the almost fall pumping through his veins. 

"I think your brain is still lacking some oxygen from all that laughing," San whispered sharply. 

Yeosang shrugged, which, he noticed, the other probably couldn't see, so he simply decided to ignore the comment and whispered back, "Thanks."

He let San pull him forward. He was very grateful for that considering he didn't trust his own feet anymore, at least not in the dark. San didn't have any problems making out the way in the dark, which was logical thinking about the fact that he's probably been living on this ship for a while now. 

"How long have you been on this ship," Yeosang asked quietly, before his brain caught up and decided that this was probably not the right moment for questions. Well, there was never a perfect moment for anything, he thought. Also, San had said that they were family, so he might as well ask. If San felt like he was prying, he would most likely tell him to mind his own business anyway.

San sat down on his bed and pulled Yeosang down next to him. "I'm pretty sure it's been about four years."

They laid down on their backs, staring into the dark in silence for a couple moments. "So how did you, you know... End up here?" Yeosang couldn't help his curiousity. It was the main reason he worked at a library, honestly. He just wanted to know everything there was to know and working at a place like that gave him countless opportunities to fulfill his hunger for knowledge. Especially because his hometown wasn't that big and he'd often be alone in the huge building filled with endless shelves of all kinds of books.

There was a long period of silence and Yeosang was already starting to believe that San had fallen asleep, but then he started speaking slowly, as if to pick out his words carefully. Maybe he had thought about whether to tell Yeosang about his past life, maybe he had just considered how to word his story. Who knows? 

"I... When I was fourteen my mom got sick. We couldn't afford any sort of medical care because we were pretty poor. Her condition got worse and worse and one day she died. It's devastating, you know? Watching someone you love wither away, knowing that you're completely helpless. My dad didn't deal with her death too well. Hell, neither did I, but he started drinking. And I mean a lot. He'd yell at me often, which I guess was his own way of letting his feelings out. One day, he went out to his favourite bar and didn't come home. I waited and waited, but he never showed up. I never found out what happened to him, but I figured that there was nothing left for me back at home," San whispered. 

Now Yeosang kind of felt bad for asking, but he guessed San wouldn't have replied in the first place if he didn't feel comfortable enough to give Yeosang an answer.

Yeosang turned his face in San's direction. He could only make out the outline of his face when he concentrated really hard. He didn't really know what to say. He felt sorry for the boy, but he didn't know whether his sympathy would be helpful. San had sounded pretty indifferent when he was speaking. Maybe he was over it, or he was emotionally distancing himself from his past. Which would be pretty logical. 

"I'm sorry," Yeosang said, unsure but nonetheless sincere. 

San sighed. "Thanks, but... You don't need to be. It's all in the past. I have my family here now. Home is where the heart is." 

Yeosang bit his lip. San didn't necessarily sound upset, but Yeosang could still hear the underlying sadness in his words. It's the type of subtle pain that creeps into your voice after years of carrying around your sorrows. 

He wondered whether he could manage to console the boy. Would he even want that? By now Yeosang had started gnawing on his lip, pulling on the dead skin with his teeth. God, how did the other pirates deal with the dryness? He'd have to ask one of them how they moisturized. Maybe they had just grown used to it. 

Tentatively, Yeosang stretched out the fingers of his hand until he could feel them brushing against San's. At first, he thought his attempt to console the pirate was rejected, because he pulled his hand away for a second, before he apparently changed his mind and reached out again, wrapping his pinky finger around Yeosang's.

For a couple of moments, they just laid there in complete silence. If you ignored the light snores coming from some of the other pirates, of course. Yeosang was surprised when he suddenly felt San turn around to face him, cuddling into him. He wasn't sure whether San was still awake, or whether he had fallen asleep. His question was answered when he felt wetness spreading on his shirt and heard some sniffling sounds. Instantly, Yeosang wrapped his arm around San protectively and held him. 

"I'm sorry," Yeosang whispered into the darkness. "Everything is going to be fine." He didn't know whether his words were meant to comfort San or himself. He could feel tears starting to form in his own eyes, but he refused to cry now.

That night, both of them had a hard time falling asleep and when they did, it was fitful.

* 

Yeosang thought he'd never forget the day they got off the ship. They had finally arrived at an island. The reason he'd never forget that moment was because he was just so grateful to be on actual land again. Until now, he hadn't even realized how crazy spending all his time in a closed off space actually drove him. He could actually move freely without running into a railing or a wall after a couple of meters. He threw himself to the ground, kneeling and bowing down appreciatively several times. 

When he got up again, dusting his pants off, he noticed that the pirates were lined up and looking at him oddly. "What the fuck are you doing, shorty," San asked obnoxiously. 

Yeosang finished slapping his knees and replied, "Just mind your own business. Also, staring at people is rude in case you didn't know that." He gave all of them a stern look, which nobody took seriously, though. 

Actually, most of them were taking in the admittedly beautiful scenery. They were currently at the beach, close to the treeline where some rocks were lying around. Birds utilized them as their homes, apparently. From where Yeosang was standing he could make out some of them flying to and fro, carrying branches and other things in their beaks. 

The heavy leaves of the palmtrees were swinging back and forth in the wind. Combined with the sounds of the waves breaking against the shore it created a beautiful noise scenery. Yeosang felt like could spend all day here without getting bored. It was such a nice place. 

After a while Yeosang wanted to know, "So, where are we going?" 

Hongjoong gave him a cheeky smile. "Remember the palace I mentioned to you the other day? Rumour has it that nobody has managed to get inside in, like, twenty years. And I'm always up for a challenge."

Yeosang nodded. That sounded logical, if he was honest. The heroes in the books he liked to read also always tried to make the impossible possible. That's usually what got them into trouble, though. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Yeosang didn't want to get into trouble. Again he wished he could be at home. 

Spending a day working peacefully, or spending a weekend with his parents or friends. He could go to the park, let the sun kiss him and - remembering an especially horrifying incident - hope that no bird decided to take a shit on him as he buried his face in a book. Yeosang eyed the birds with mistrust. He hoped they would behave and that he didn't have to wash any sort of disgusting liquid out of his hair at the end of the day. 

They started making their way into the jungle. At first they could move quickly, but as the trees got more and more dense, it became more difficult to move in a group of eight people, so they had to slow down a bit. Fortunately, they had broughts bags with water and some food. They'd surely spend at least two days on this island, Yeosang thought. 

The island wasn't that big, but also by no means small. Suddenly, he wondered whether Hongjoong even had a map that would lead them where this fabulous palace was supposed to be. Or were they just wandering around, hoping to run into that place? 

Even if it was like that, Yeosang thought that he'd enjoy their little journey nonetheless. His surroundings were absolutely breathtaking. He saw plants he'd never seen before, flowers and insects he couldn't even name. When they sat down to take a little break, he stretched out his hand and touched the leaf of a cute looking plant like a curious child. He hurriedly pulled his hand back when the leaves moved. Fascinatedly, he watched the leaves close. 

"Shy grass," someone said behind him. Yeosang looked over his shoulder and found Seonghwa looking at him with a smile on his face. Obviously he had seen the way Yeosang had played with the little plant. 

He rolled his eyes playfully and dryly said, "Ha ha." 

Seonghwa grinned. "No, I'm serious. It's called shy grass. Well, the correct term would be Mimosa Pudica, but I didn't want to hit you with that sort of jargon." 

A couple minutes later, Yeosang watched the leaves unfold again. Experimentally, he reached out to touch a couple of them again. It was really interesting, watching the leaves move. He could probably sit there and do this for hours. That's how fascinating he found it. None of his books had told him about that. There was so much to discover that he didn't have a clue about. Seonghwa continued, "It's a great plant, really. It can stop bleeding and it can be used to relieve pain. And it looks cute, which is a plus, I guess."

"How do you know all this," Yeosang wanted to know. 

Seonghwa explained, "Well, I used to work as a gardener. When I was small my grandma taught me a lot about all sorts of plants and as I got older I also taught myself a lot by reading all the books I could find. You could say I made my hobby my job. Obviously, I don't do that anymore. But this sort of knowledge is still useful when you cook for six, now seven, other hungry pirates. After all, I don't want to accidentally poison any of you all while trying out new ingredients. Or when I use herbs to make medicine for someone when they're sick."

Yeosang nodded. That did sound pretty reasonable.

"Hey! When are you two going to be done nerding out? We'd like to continue walking," Wooyoung shouted.

Yeosang's curiousity still wasn't satisfied, so while they got up and pointedly ignored the sounds their knees made while they did so, he asked, "You obviously love plants. So why did you..." He trailed off instead of asking 'why did you decide to live on a ship with zero garden'. 

"There's really no deep background story. It probably sounds kind of cringeworthy. I decided to live among pirates because I fell in love with one." His gaze rested on Hongjoong's back and he had this dreamy expression on his face. How cute, Yeosang thought. And also impressive. He must have fallen really hard in order to give up his old life. Yeosang didn't know whether he'd be able to give up the life he knew for someone he loved. But then again, he'd never really been in love, so he couldn't imagine what it would be like.

They continued walking until after the sun had set. It was getting pretty dark and walking got increasingly difficult. At least the jungle wasn't as dense anymore. He wondered how the others managed to walk without stumbling at least once a minute. Maybe it was because they were used to wandering through the jungle. Then he'd also get used to it one day, he figured. 

He'd get used to a lot of things, he thought. Maybe he could even learn how to fish or something like that. Did they even fish? He imagined it would be really useful for people who mostly lived on a ship. He thought back to the past couple days on the sloop. They hadn't eaten any fish. Before he could get any more lost in his thoughts, Yeosang's foot caught onto something and he tripped over the root of some tree. He should have seen that coming, really. It was just his luck. 

That sure as hell worked to pull him out of his thoughts. And to knock the air out of his lungs. Maybe it was his fate to fall flat on his face. Karma hadn't been on his side, recently. Well, at least none of the birds had taken a shit on his head yet. He knocked on the root he was lying on three times in a row. Just to be safe. 

When Yeosang regained his ability to breathe, hear and see again, he noticed that someone was laughing at his misery. Of course it was San. Nobody else could laugh in such an annoying way. Yeosang looked up from where he was lying and tried to glare at the boy who was shrieking offendingly, but he gave up on trying to look intimidating when he saw two Sans laughing at him. Damn, he hoped he didn't get a concussion. That's something he didn't need on top of the mess he called his life. 

Now San was kneeling down and took Yeosang's hands in his own to pull him up to seat him against the nearest tree. He sat down next to Yeosang and said, "I'm sorry, but you should have seen yourself! You just fell down and didn't even react! What were you thinking about?"

Yeosang didn't want to admit that he had been thinking about fish, so he said, "I was wondering how the universe developed."

San grinned at him. "Sure you were. So, do you have any theories?" Yeosang couldn't stop staring at his dimples. They were so cute, he couldn't help it. How could a mean person like San look so cute? Life was unfair.

Yeosang simply shrugged, but didn't bother giving the boy a proper reply. That's what he got for being mean. Suddenly, he had San's hands in his face. Yeosang stared at him, shock written all over his face. "What happened to personal space?" He had meant to sound teasing, but due to the way San was squishing his cheeks it came out muffled. 

"Shut up, I'm just checking for injuries. You can be glad you didn't break your nose. It isn't even bleeding. You do have some scratches on your cheek, though. I'll clean those up for you. Don't worry, you'll be as good as new in a couple days. You're still pretty." Maybe Yeosang was hallucinating, but he thought that San's gaze rested on his lips for a second too long. Did he split his lip during the fall? He licked his lip to check, but couldn't notice anything strange. His lips were perfectly fine. In front of him, San's breath hitched and he went stiff for a couple seconds before he whispered, "I'll just get some stuff to clean you up."

Yeosang nodded, but felt dizzy again, so he stopped and just watched San search for the water bottle in his bag. The others had started setting up a couple blankets as makeshift beds. They had probably decided to rest for the night once they noticed that one of them had literally fallen on his face because of the darkness.

When San returned with a wet piece of cloth, he kneeled down in front of Yeosang again and wiped at his face. There was a light stinging sensation when he got to his cheek, but it wasn't that bad. Yeosang couldn't help but feel like he was being watched. Maybe it was the eerie darkness that had settled over the jungle. However, maybe it was just the fact that San was watching him intensely as he cleaned Yeosang up. 

Right now the others were talking and making a fire, but Yeosang imagined that once everyone was asleep it would be creepily quiet. After San was done, he murmured, "You're good to go. As good as new."

Yeosang nodded. San was still looking at him curiously and Yeosang was starting to feel weird, could feel his face heating up. Well, maybe his face was heating up because the warmth of the fire was starting to make him feel hot. Either way, he suggested, "Let's go to sleep?"

"Yeah, of course. It's been a long day." San helped Yeosang, who was fortunately feeling less dizzy by now, to his feet and led him over to the makeshift beds. When he settled on the ground and laid down, he felt like something was missing. He wondered what it could be. Possibly dinner? No, he had eaten with the others during their break in the afternoon and didn't feel hungry right now. Maybe he missed the soft movements of the ship? But the ship didn't really move around a lot. Then what could it be?

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard San laugh loudly at something Yunho and Mingi had said. That's right. San was situated on the opposite side of the bonfire, talking to the two other boys. Yeosang closed his eyes and buried himself in his blanket. It had only been a handful of days, but he had already grown used to the feeling of warmth and closeness someone lying next to him at night could offer.

Yeosang was too tired to think about what any of that meant, though. Exhaustion burned behind his eyelids, his eyes closed on their own will and he fell into a deep sleep.

*

When Yeosang woke up it was because something was wrong. Very wrong. The very wrong feeling came from being grabbed by strange hands, he realized. Once he had registrated that there were strange men trying to kidnap him, the alarm bells in his head rung at a deafening volume. He was going to scream, give the others, who were by now all sleeping peacefully, a signal as to what was going on, but before he could do that he was knocked out and he saw stars behind the lids of his eyes for the second time that day.

*

The first thing Yeosang noticed when he woke up was that it was raining cats and dogs. Yeosang's nose scrunched up. That's why he preferred sleeping with a roof over his head. Having rain hit his face could have easily been prevented if he hadn't gone to sleep in the jungle.

Groggily, Yeosang opened his eyes. He was greeted with an odd sight. There, right above him, was a moose. It looked gigantic from where he was lying and it was drooling right onto his face. Yeosang was utterly disgusted, but he feared that moving would maybe send the wrong signals and aggravate the animal. He blinked a couple of times and his sight got clearer. 

Oh, that was no moose. It was just a deer, munching on some plants growing next to his head lazily and open-mouthed. Yeosang sat up and watched as the timid animal hastily jumped away. A sharp pain shot through his skull. When he tried to rub his eyes, he noticed that his hands were bound. 

Suddenly, he remembered the events of last night. Where the fuck was he? He looked around. Okay, obviously he was still in the jungle. Over there some guy was cleaning his shoes. "Hey, asshole," Yeosang shouted spontaneously.

The guy's head turned immediately. He went over to Yeosang, who was still sitting on the ground and now realizing that maybe calling a guy twice his size names was rather counterproductive and could possibly end bad for him. That dude was huge. Or maybe it just seemed like that due to Yeosang's frog perspective. Anyway, he seemed pretty menacing when he asked, "The fuck did you just call me?" 

Yeosang gulped, throat feeling dry all of a sudden. He decided to stay quiet, but apparently his non-existent reaction aggravated the guy even more. He grabbed Yeosang's collar roughly and pulled him up, which by the way confirmed Yeosang's suspicion of the man being a fucking giant. Yeosang gasped, taken by surprise. The fabric of his shirt was digging into the back of his neck uncomfortably, bordering on painful.

"What's going on here," Someone new suddenly asked. Yeosang saw another guy coming towards them out of the corner of his eye.

"This little piece of shit cursed at me," The man holding onto Yeosang's collar spat, actual droplets of spit hitting Yeosang's face. He was definitely scared and disgusted. 

He wanted to know what was going on here. What was he doing here? Why had he been kidnapped? What did these people want from him? Yeosang's knees started getting weak. Considering that, he was actually pretty glad that he was being held up by this creepy guy. He was about to cry, he could feel the tears forming in his eyes, threatening to spill. 

Why had his life taken such a drastic turn? Why him? He had always been good, had tried to make the best out of everything life had thrown at him. He had grown up with adoptive parents and he was so glad that they had adopted him and raised him with all the love they could give him, but that alone brought him to the conclusion that his life had started under fucked up conditions. 

He didn't know anything about his biological parents, he didn't know where he came from. This sort of incertitude had followed him his whole life, even though he had tried to ignore it and look at all the good things he did have. 

But now he felt completely lost. There was barely anything good in his life at the moment. Everything had started when he had to leave home because someone had tried to kidnap him - Yeosang's eyes suddenly went wide in realization.

"You," He gasped. "You were the ones who broke into my home."

The new guy put his hand on the big guy's arm and he immediately loosened his grip on Yeosang's clothes. He could finally breathe freely, but his knees were still shaking. The immediate threat was gone, but now the mental exhaustion was threatening to catch up.

Yeosang suddenly started crying and felt stupid for it. Showing weakness in front of your enemy? Probably not such a great idea. He started wiping his eyes angrily, getting even more frustrated when he realized that his hands were still bound. How could he have forgotten about that?

"Now, that is no reason to cry. See, you can be glad that you're still alive. No thanks to your big mouth, though. So, where is the key?"

Yeosang tried to swallow back his tears, and succeeded to some extent. The confusion certainly helped reducing his emotional distress. 

"I have no idea which fucking key you're talking about."

The man's eyes went big in surprise. Then, his mouth distorted into a twisted smile. "You have no idea, huh?"

Before Yeosang could question his reaction, he was grabbed on arm and pulled forward, away from where he had been lying, to a place where he could hear the roaring sounds of a handful of men laughing and talking. They were sitting in a circle, eating together. Yeosang's stomach grumbled as well. How long had he been out for? He noticed that his tongue felt fuzzy and the taste in his mouth was rather unpleasant. He seriously missed his toothbrush.

"Attention, everyone! Our little prince here has no idea who he is."

All eyes were on them. Yeosang didn't like the way they were looking at him. Like he was crazy. Someone even had the audacity to laugh. Had he suddenly grown a second head? No, impossible - he wasn't some creepy hell dog like Cerberus. Maybe he had peed himself. He thought if that had been the case he would have felt it, but he quickly glanced at his pants - just to be sure. So they really were surprised because he apparently didn't know who he was, which, in his humble opinion, was a ridiculous notion.

Yeosang was many things. In his nineteen years of living he had discovered a lot of things about himself and he was sure there were many more things he'd find out about himself in the future, but he was sure of one thing. He was just Yeosang and that was something that would never change, something nobody could take away from him. 

So these assholes sitting there and looking at him like they knew everything about the person standing in front of them rubbed him the wrong way. "So, who the fuck do you think I am? I bet you don't even know my name," He spat. He was getting fed up. Not only had they kidnapped him, now they were also judging him for reasons unknown to him.

"Don't I, Kang Yeosang?" Okay, now Yeosang was actually taken aback. He was also more confused than ever. "What a beautiful name your parents picked for you."

Yeosang's head snapped into the man's direction so quickly he could hear something crack in his neck. Damn the hard ground he had been sleeping on. "What would you know about my parents?" He was surprised, didn't even know he could sound this hostile.

Now the twisted grin was back. "Which ones do you mean?"

At that moment Yeosang sort of wished killing someone by staring at them fiery enough was something that could actually happen. The man soon realized that Yeosang wouldn't answer him and continued speaking unpromptedly, "You know, I was really close to your father back in the day. Your biological father, I mean. Unfortunately, he turned to stone one day. As did his wife. It's a tragic story. Their passing filled me with deep regret."

Yeosang swallowed the huge lump that had formed in his throat. It mostly consisted of words that wouldn't come out of his mouth no matter how hard he tried. That guy certainly didn't sound like he had ever felt regret in his whole life. Yeosang had so many questions, but the most important one was... Was any of this true?

"The most tragic part of the story is probably that they were the king and the queen. What's a state without its monarchs? Anyway, the people didn't like having me as their new ruler. They betrayed me with the help of a warlock. Not the same one who helped me get the position I had desired, obviously. They locked everyone out of the city, out of the palace, even themselves and then they ran away, taking all the ships and moving to other countries. Rumour has it that only the true heir to the throne can get rid of the magical barrier surrounding the palace."

None of that made sense in Yeosang's head. Was this guy trying to tell him that he was the supposed ruler of a long lost kingdom? If he could trust this man's words, his biological parents were nothing more than relics, all hope of ever getting to know them lost. All that would be left of that place would be the ruins of what used to be. If that was the truth about his origin, maybe not knowing would have been better. Yeosang stared at the ground. There were a thousand thoughts running through his mind, but none of them would manifest as something concrete. 

His thoughts were like those dreams in which you chase after something. You can't really tell what it is exactly, but you had a feeling of what it could be. Every time you came close to reaching it though, it would slip away again, scurry around a corner and you had to start running after it again. He'd had a lot of those dreams in his life. He was so scared of loss, especially the loss of people who were important to him. 

Yeosang had always guessed that was what those dreams had been about. He didn't know where he came from, couldn't grasp it because just the idea in itself was too abstract, so he had to hold on to the reality he could in fact accept as concrete. Knowing that both his dreams and his reality had been so abruptly taken from him made him feel sick. 

Yeosang looked at the ground. His kidnapper was still speaking. "You know, your nanny did a really good job at hiding you. You were just a baby. Making you disappear in the system really was no big deal. Just another orphan. Nothing set you apart from any of the other kids." He took a break and cleared his throat before he continued speaking, "You can't imagine how hard it was to find you. But we did it after all, and we're finally here. Yeosang, you're finally home."

That's when Yeosang found his countenance again. "What? This isn't my home. If this is the place I originally came from and you really did all the things you told me, then you ruined all the chances of this ever becoming any sort of home for me." A cold feeling creeped up his back when he asked, "What did you do with my parents back home?"

"Oh, don't be sad, little prince. They're fine, I didn't see any point in hurting them. The goal was to get you. I guess they are pretty sad about their kid running away from home, though." The man made gestures similar to wiping one's tears. He was mocking Yeosang, but Yeosang didn't care. He just felt so much relief knowing that his parents were safe.

"What happened to the others?" he wanted to know. 

"The others? Oh, right, your cute little pirate family. Well, I don't think they'll come looking for you. After all, you were a pretty recent addition to their team, right? I'm pretty sure they don't care about you." 

Yeosang felt bad thanks to the man's words. Would they really leave him behind? He didn't think so, but it was true, he had only known the crew for a couple of days. Back at their camping place there probably hadn't been anything wrong. It must have looked as if he had just left on his free will. He hoped there was someone who cared enough to go looking for him.

"Okay, I've explained everything to you, but now my patience is running out. Where is the key? How do we break the barrier?" The man looked even more threatening than before and honestly, Yeosang's knees started feeling like jelly. 

Now he was grabbed by the collar again. He could see the man's veins protrude due to how hard he was gripping onto the fabric of Yeosang's shirt. "You must know the way. They wouldn't just create a spell that only lets the heir in without him knowing how the fuck to get inside."

Yeosang was so frightened he couldn't even think clearly. He had no idea how to break any sort of barrier. Hell, he didn't even believe in magic in the first place. "I- I have no idea," He stammered hesitantly. 

The man grunted and pushed Yeosang away. Since he didn't really have much balance due to his tied hands and his knees feeling weak he landed on his ass, looking like the epitome of gracefulness. He looked up to the guy who was now massaging his temples. "Alright, you'll just come with us. Your presence better be enough to get us in."

*

The sun was burning down onto Yeosang and his kidnappers as they made their way through the lively jungle. Birds were singing exotic songs, leafs were rustling in the wind. Yeosang enjoyed the way the breeze brushed through his sweaty hair. At least those creepy ass guys had given him some food and water after they were done running their mouths. 

Soon, they came to some sort of ledge with a river and a waterfall where they decided to rest for a while to, quote, "enjoy the view during their break". Yeosang could just roll his eyes at the behaviour of these men. They were all huge and scary as shit, but they wanted to rest here because of the pretty view. Well, okay then. It's not like Yeosang minded looking at the thick jungle. The continuous sounds of the flowing river and the distant noise of the waterfall made for a nice noise scenery as well.

Before any of them could sit down, though, monsters jumped out of the jungle, screaming madly. Upon further inspection, the monsters turned out to be actual people. To be more exact, they were the pirates who Yeosang had gotten pretty close to in the past couple days. Had he not been so shocked about their sudden attack he would have started bawling his eyes out in relief, no lie. 

The pirates moved quickly, fighting against the enemy with all their strength, going absolutely feral. Yeosang was amazed. He hadn't even noticed that they had brought their huge swords and knives. Had he always been this ignorant to his surroundings? 

Due to the shock of the sudden activities, he stumbled and almost fell down. Again. Where had all his luck gone? Life was unfair. 

Suddenly, someone grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him towards the waterfall. He saw a mop of red hair out of the corner of his eyes. "Jump, Yeosang, jump! Trust me, you need to jump down the waterfall!"

Jump... Down? Yeosang stumbled towards the shore of the river and stared at the water below him. The masses of water fell down quickly and violently. Yeosang swallowed. This didn't look like fun at all. 

When Yeosang heard a scream behind him, definitely not from one of his new friends - who were actually saving him, oh my god, he couldn't be happier, now that he was thinking about it - the decision was taken from him. He turned around on an impulse and slipped in the process. He then proceeded to fall down, which definitely wouldn't make it to the top 10 best experiences he's ever had. 

If Yeosang screamed like a someone who was being attacked by a giant spider, it was just because he realized that his hands were still tied. Great timing for such a realization. He'd congratulate himself for it, but he was kind of preoccupied. 

Soon, he hit the water and broke the surface, which was more than a little bit painful. Really, he felt like he should be used to it by now. Bad luck, injuries, that was his life now. He hoped there was a way to make money with this, apparently it was the only thing he was good at. 

While Yeosang was trying to reach the surface again by kicking his legs like a frog, something wrapped around his leg. It felt slimy and uncomfortably tight, so he thought maybe some algas had tied themselves around his ankle, but when he looked down and discovered a very human hand he almost passed out. 

However, when Yeosang noticed a mermaid's tail, he actually did black out.

*

When Yeosang woke up again, the first thing he noticed was that he was lying in a cave. An earthy smell filled his nose. Water fell down in front of the cave like a living curtain. A cave behind a waterfall, that sounds like something right out of a book, Yeosang thought as he sat up and admired his free wrists.

"Oh, you're awake," a deep voice said. 

Yeosang turned his head and feared his eyes were going to fall out of their sockets as he spotted Mingi next to him, fanning his scaly turquoise colored tail dry with the giant leaf of a palmtree. 

"You're," Yeosang swallowed nervously. "You're a mermaid?"

Snorting, Mingi replied, "Well, that's an educated guess, but technically I'm a merman."

Yeosang nodded and repeated, "Merman. I didn't expect this." Perhaps that explained the pirate slash merman's hair colour. 

"I guess we're all full of surprises. Turns out you're a prince, after all." Mingi shrugged and continued trying to get his tail to dry. 

Huffing, Yeosang responded, "I'm not so sure about that. I'm also not sure I want that."

Mingi sighed. "We can't choose what we are, you know? We can just learn to accept it and try to make the best of it. Look at me, every time my legs come in contact with water I turn into a fish. But it can be useful, for example when I'm saving boys who fell in the water." Here he gave Yeosang a meaningful look. 

Yeosang said, "Thanks for that, by the way. They probably would have shot an arrow at me had I stayed in the lake."

"It's no problem, trust me. Everyone was shocked when we saw that you had disappeared. Then, we found huge footprints in the mud. They definitely weren't yours so we decided to follow them to see what had happened. We've been following you for a while now, waiting for the perfect opportunity to surprise them." Mingi's speech was cut short when there was a splash. 

He glanced at Yeosang one last time, silently ordering him to stay where he was - which was funny to Yeosang because he hadn't planned on moving anyway - before he rolled over and plopped into the water again. 

While he was gone, Yeosang had some moments to think. His friends were risking their lives for him, even though they'd only known him for a couple days. These boys were truly precious, accepting him into their family at the speed of lightning and now doing everything to protect him.

When Mingi reappeared, Yeosang went pale. Mingi was carring San, who was bleeding out of a wound on the side of his torso. Quickly, Yeosang sat down next to him, mumbling an incoherent stream of "no" and "San".

He looked at Mingi helplessly when San didn't show any reaction. "What's going on?"

Mingi replied, "Don't worry, he's alive, he just passed out. The wound isn't that deep, I can heal it."

Heal it? Today was full of surprises. Curiously, Yeosang watched as Mingi put his hands on top of the wound that was steadily leaking blood. He closed his eyes in concentration and began chanting something in a language completely foreign to Yeosang. His hands started glowing, blue-ish sparks forming around them. The stab wound closed within a couple of seconds. Yeosang was astonished. What else was his friend capable of? Who else among them had special abilities?

San opened his eyes drowsily. "Oh, San, you're fine," Yeosang exclaimed excitedly and cradled his head in his hands. 

Obviously confused, San muttered, "What happened? Why are you crying on me?"

Yeosang was glad Mingi replied because he was sure he wouldn't be able to get a single word out right now. He was just happy that his friend was not hurt anymore. "You were stabbed and fell into the water. I healed the wound. You lost some blood, though, so you might feel a little bit weak right now. And Yeosang is probably crying because he's happy to see your ugly mug."

"Can you please stop calling me ugly while you're a literal fish? I can't take you seriously," San replied. 

Rolling his eyes, Mingi said, "My job here is done, he's as good as new."

San smiled and gave Mingi a warm "thanks". 

"You're welcome, I'd do everything to save y'all idiot sandwiches," Mingi laughed, his mouth turning into the sun and his eyes transforming into moons. 

"Idiot sandwiches," Yeosang repeated in disbelief and listened to Mingi's laugh increase in volume. Well, then.

*

The way back was hard. Everybody was exhausted, but nobody wanted to stay on this island any longer than necessary. Fortunately, nobody else had really gotten hurt during the fight, apart from a few scratches and bruises. The crew was going to be fine. The same couldn't be said about Yeosang's kidnappers, though. The pirates had made sure they wouldn't hurt anybody ever again. Yeosang felt awfully relieved.

Suddenly, Hongjoong was by his side. "Are you sad that we're going back?"

Yeosang pondered his question. Truthfully, he replied, "No, not really."

"We can come back here some other day," Hongjoong said, apparently not entirely convinced by Yeosang's answer.

Sighing, Yeosang shook his head and stated, "No, please. You can go back with the others, but I seriously don't want to set foot on this island again. I am literally wounded and I don't just mean emotionally - my head is about to burst." Yeosang made a dramatic gesture which was meant to represent his exploding head.

Hongjoong snorted and squeezed Yeosang's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, we'll all rest and then you can go back home. After all, there's nobody who could threaten you or your family anymore."

Huh, that's right. Yeosang hadn't even had the time to consider that yet. He would see his family again. Even though he had only been gone for about a week he had thought the loss would be permanent, so he was more than happy to be able to go back to his parents. 

Yeosang surprised Hongjoong with a tight hug. "Thank you for everything you've done for me," He sniffed emotionally. 

Hongjoong patted his back. After a while, he cleared his throat and said, "I'd appreciate if you don't get any snot on my shirt."

"Oh, sorry," Yeosang said hurriedly and pulled back. 

"You know," Hongjoong uttered conversationally, "There's someone in the crew who probably wouldn't mind getting your bodily fluids on them."

Yeosang followed Hongjoong's gaze. His eyes landed on San, who was currently bickering with Wooyoung. He looked back at Hongjoong again. "Do you take constructive criticism on your choice of words? That sounded way too suggestive."

If Yeosang was red in his face, it was probably due to the sun and if his heart was beating faster it was because of the physical exertion. Hongjoong shrugged and said, "I said what I said."

When they were finally back on the ship, Yeosang sunk to his knees again and muttered, "Thank God I can be on this sacred ship again, I have been ignorant of the comfort this sloop has offered me."

Wooden floors were so comfortable. Yeosang fucking loved wood - wood was holy. After he was done worshipping the pirates' ship, he noticed that everyone had gathered around him and was looking at him, clearly shocked and disturbed. 

"Are you not feeling well? Maybe I can brew up some medicine for you," Seonghwa offered.

"And if that's not enough I'm sure we can arrange for some nice men in white clothes to help you," Hongjoong interjected helpfully. 

Yeosang got up and shook his head. "That won't be necessary," He said and pulled them into a messy group hug, laughing wholeheartedly. 

*

After all of them had slept for an eternity, Seonghwa had grabbed a couple boys and pulled them towards the kitchen in order to cook a nice meal. They needed to eat properly after an adventure like that.

"Eat, my children, you deserve it," Seonghwa exclaimed once everyone was seated with their full plates in front of them. 

"Yes, mom," Someone said quickly. Everybody turned to look at Jongho, whose spoon was already halfway to his mouth.

"Excuse me?" 

Jongho sighed, stopped the movement of his hand and reluctantly said, "Thanks, dad."

Seonghwa nodded proudly and ruffled Jongho's hair. "That's my son. Dig in."

Jongho rolled his eyes, but he didn't have to be told twice. Everyone inhaled the food greedily.

They even had alcohol. Due to the special occasion, Seonghwa had explained. After all the bullshit and excitement of the day, everyone enjoyed the opportunity to let loose.

Yunho and Mingi were busy doing acrobatics and Yeosang wondered how they managed to do drunk handstands without breaking their skulls. He got dizzy just watching them. Or maybe he was just dizzy because he was tipsy. It was a pleasant feeling. He decided he really liked rum.

Wooyoung and Jongho were busy cheering them on, placing bets on who would last longer without puking their guts out. Hongjoong had fallen asleep with his head in Seonghwa's lap, snoring lightly. Internally, Yeosang cooed at the way Seonghwa was stroking Hongjoong's hair. 

Yeosang was so lost in his own little world, observing the others with interest, that he was really surprised when someone draped themselves over him. He would say he was shocked, but he literally was too drunk to show that much of a reaction. 

"What are you doing," he asked San, who was now using Yeosang's shoulder as a pillow. 

"Shh," the other boy murmured. "I'm cuddling you." For good measure, he wrapped his arms around Yeosang's middle and tucked his face in the crook of his neck. Yeosang giggled because San's warm breath tickled his throat. Everything felt so light and funny.

After a while, Yeosang said (i.e. slurred), "Hey, you're almost falling asleep on me and I'm short, so I won't be able to carry you. Listen: your bed is calling for us."

Nodding, San got up from his position on Yeosang's shoulder and reached for the other boy's hand. The two of them laughed like little kids as they stumbled through the rooms of the ship. Yeosang had to stop San from walking into a wall and almost tripped over his own feet in the process. 

Take a shot every time I trip and/or fall, Yeosang thought and laughed. Obviously, San had no idea what the boy was laughing about, but he also joined in. Yeosang found his laugh endearing, even though he found it a tiny bit too loud most of the time. It was almost a shame that it was dark, otherwise Yeosang would have admired San's dimples which surely were out to play.

They fell onto San's bed in a messy tangle of limbs, cuddling up closely. Their noses bumped and Yeosang giggled again. 

"You know," San mused, "Your laugh is really cute."

Suddenly, there was a warm hand on Yeosang's cheek. He wondered whether San could feel the blush radiating heat from his face. Yeosang noticed San shuffling closer, could feel his breath on his face, so he held his own in anticipation. His heartbeat was going feral in his chest. Was San going to kiss him? God, he hoped he would kiss him.

However, San's lips landed on Yeosang's chin. Top 10 anime betrayals. Yeosang smiled and cupped San's cheek in return as he whispered, "You're cute."

Yeosang leaned in and this time their mouths actually met in a sweet kiss. Yeosang's lips tingled and he was sure it wasn't because of the alcohol in his system. San's kisses were light like the fluttering wings of butterflies. It was beautiful and exciting and he didn't want it to end. 

After a while they stopped moving their mouths and just laid there, cuddling. San asked, "Yeosang?"

"Yes, San," he asked back into the darkness. 

"I'll really miss you when you're gone." 

Yeosang didn't really know what to say, he just knew that his heart clenched painfully after hearing San's words. He whispered, "I'll miss you, too."

San didn't really give him an answer, he just wrapped his arms tighter around Yeosang and got closer, if that was even possible. How could it be that one could fall so suddenly, so deeply, within a handful of days? Yeosang's mind was racing. He had never been in love before, but he was sure that what he was feeling right now came pretty close to it.

Technically, Yeosang was aware that falling in love within a few days was unlikely, but he couldn't deny the strong infatuation he felt for the pirate who was currently snuggled up against him. San's breath had evened out, so he carefully pulled the blanket over them and closed his eyes. His world was spinning - maybe he didn't like rum as much as he had originally claimed - so he held onto the boy in front of him tightly to ground himself.

* 

Goodbye came too soon. Even though the ship didn't look suspicious - Yeosang could confirm this - they had decided to cast anchor at night, just to be safe. Yeosang was so excited to return to his family, he was basically vibrating. 

The crew had pulled him into a hug, one by one, giving him advice and encouragements. Hongjoong said, "Don't forget about us when you go back to your landlubber life."

Yeosang laughed. "Don't worry, I don't think I'll ever forget about you guys. Thank you so much for everything. You took me in and you saved me from my creepy ass kidnappers. I don't even know how I'll be able to return the favour." Maybe he had some diamonds or gold lying around at home. He had noticed that Hongjoong was like a madge, attracted to all that glitters.

Hongjoong was patting Yeosang's shoulder comfortingly as he said, "You shouldn't worry about that. You're alive and healthy, that's enough because it's all that matters."

"Aww," Yeosang couldn't help but coo and hug the captain again. 

"Stay safe," Hongjoong wheezed due to Yeosang's bone-brushing hug.

Happy, but also with a heavy heart, Yeosang replied, "I will. You too, all of you." Everyone nodded dutifully and smiled. 

"You know, you're always welcome to join us again in the future. This surely isn't the last time we're in this town," Seonghwa added. 

"I'd be happy to see all of you again in the future," Yeosang said truthfully. While he had thought he had lost his family forever he had found a second family. He had found seven brothers. Well, he thought, biting his lip. Six brothers and a San. He looked over to the boy who had been oddly quiet. 

"Well," Hongjoong said when he noticed Yeosang's stare, "We'll give you some privacy."

Yeosang didn't miss the way Jongho whistled as they left the room. What a brat.

After a couple seconds of awkward silence, San cleared his throat and said, "Should we go outside? I'm sure it's beautiful now."

Agreeing, Yeosang grabbed San's wrist and they climbed the stairs leading to the deck. San had been right. The sight was beautiful. Yeosang had a nice view of his home town and the midnight blue sky. There were no clouds in sight so the sparkly stars were shining brightly. 

"Seonghwa was right," San muttered as he stepped behind Yeosang and gave him a backhug. Yeosang leaned into his arms. It made him feel warm and safe. "Sooner or later, we'll see each other again."

"I already can't wait for that day," Yeosang replied and turned around in San's arms. The pirate's eyes reflected the starlight and his earrings glinted. Yeosang mustered him intensely, trying to burn the picture of San into his brain just like he had already carved the boy's name into his heart. 

San smiled. "Are you happy you're finally able to go home?"

"Of course I am." Yeosang was hypnotised by San's smile so he spontaneously kissed it off his face. The kiss was bittersweet, filled with all the feelings that came with saying goodbye and the uncertain future. "But I'll miss you so much. Will you really come back to me?"

"You know what they say," San whispered against Yeosang's mouth. "Home is where the heart is. Mine is with you. I'll always come back to you."

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! kudos and comments give me life ᵘʷᵘ


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